1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video-conference network managing system for managing a video-conference which uses video-conference terminal apparatuses.
A video-conference network is formed by connecting video-conference terminal apparatuses located at remote distance from one another, the connecting being realized by using a network or using a network and a multi-point control apparatus. A system may be devised in which, using the formed video-conference network, the video conference is held while respective videos to the corresponding plurality of sites are transmitted/received. In such a system, it is desired to manage the video-conference network efficiently.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, the video conference is started, for example as follows: One of the participants in the video conference, for example, the sponsor of the conference calls a remote video-conference terminal apparatus with reference, for example, to a video-conference schedule table so as to establish the necessary communication circuit between them. If, instead, there are more than three participants in the video conference, a multi-point control apparatus is used to connect the plurality of video-conference terminal apparatuses with one another. In this case, for example, the sponsor of the video conference or a manager of the multi-point control apparatus, calls respective remote video-conference terminal apparatuses with reference, for example, to the video-conference schedule table, so as to establish the necessary communication circuits among them. Thus, the video conference is started.
Normally, such a video conference is held by establishing the necessary circuits among the video-conference terminal apparatuses within the same company or a specific group. Therefore, if a participant in the video conference or a manager of the multi-point control apparatus erroneously calls a video-conference terminal apparatus belonging to another group, a problem may occur. Further, there may be a case where the video conference can not be held on the expected date because, for example, some persons to be the participants have overlooked the corresponding schedule on the schedule table due to errors. Further, there may be a case where, due to an error, a video-conference terminal apparatus which has to participate in the video conference is not called. Further, there may be a case where holding of the video conference at an arbitrary time is not allowed because the multi-point control apparatus only has a capability of allowing simultaneous holding of a limited number of video conferences. In order to prevent occurrence of such a problem, the following system may be devised (please refer, for example, to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.1-208066 or Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.4-280153): a reservation center is provided for receiving reservations for video conferences, the video conferences being held successively in accordance with the thus received respective corresponding reservations.
Further, there may be a case where a certain trouble occurs in the video-conference terminal apparatus(es) or in the multi-point control apparatus of the video-conference network in the related art. In this case, the occurrence of the trouble may first be found out due to the trouble-occurred apparatus giving no response when the communication circuit for the video conference is to be established. The occurrence of the trouble may be instead first found out based on information given by the operator of the apparatus in which the trouble has occurred, that is the video-conference terminal apparatus or the multi-point control apparatus.
As a result, the following case may occur: even though a reservation has been previously made by a suitable organization such as the reservation center, a participant associated with a video-conference terminal apparatus cannot participate in the video conference since a certain trouble has occurred in the participant's video-conference terminal apparatus at the date/time of the video conference. In this case, another participant cannot recognize the reason for the absence of the participant associated with the video-conference terminal apparatus having the trouble. Thus, in the related art, it is not possible to integratedly manage the video-conference network, which as a result becomes more complicated.